Disposable medical face masks assembled in Canada from components made in India, the U.S. and China are eligible for USCMA tariff treatment, CBP said in a ruling issued Dec. 18, 2020. While some components that determine the classification of the masks originate in India, those components undergo the relevant USCMA tariff shift rule, CBP said in HQ H315375.
USMCA
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement is a free trade agreement between the three countries, also known as CUSMA in Canada and T-MEC in Mexico. Replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 2020, the agreement contains a unique sunset provision where, after six years (in 2026), any of the three parties may decide not to continue the agreement in its current form and begin a period of up to 10 years where USMCA provisions may be renegotiated.
Ramped up import enforcement efforts are likely here to stay under President Joe Biden, Sidley Austin's Ted Murphy said in an email. The multi-agency effort to crack down on import violations is expected to continue unencumbered and Murphy views these efforts as not administration-specific, particularly dealing with questions of forced labor, Section 301 tariff evasion and USMCA compliance.
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Jan. 21. The following headquarters rulings were modified recently, according to CBP:
House Democrats, including Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., are asking that Mexico and Canada agree to their commitments under the Paris Climate Accords as a condition of the USMCA. As a senator, Vice President Kamala Harris voted against USMCA because it did not address climate; the fast track legislation that directed the executive branch's negotiating priorities prohibited including climate in trade agreements.
The Commerce Department published Federal Register notices Jan. 19 on the following AD/CV duty proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, scope, affected firms or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
Mexican workers who do not have U.S. work visas should be given coronavirus vaccines, Mexico's foreign minister said during a news conference Jan. 13. Marcelo Ebrard also said his country would turn to the USMCA's labor chapter to make sure that happens. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative did not respond to a request for comment.
In a Jan. 12 speech to the National Foreign Trade Council, a business group that promotes free trade, President-elect Joe Biden's choice for U.S. trade representative said “U.S. trade policy must benefit regular Americans, communities and workers.” Katherine Tai added that it “starts with recognizing that people are not just consumers. They are also workers.”
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories published in 2020 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference numbers.
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Dec. 30. The following headquarters rulings were modified recently, according to CBP:
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters: